This chili gets it’s name because just about everything is in here but the kitchen sink! And it can even be said that this is “award winning” chili. It won a local chili contest! I love making chili because you can sub out every ingredient in here and still come out with something delicious. However, if you follow this recipe you’ll end up with a smoky, beefy, hearty chili.​Instructions:

Prep the vegetables. The onions get a medium sized dice, the peppers and garlic finely diced, and the (peeled) sweet potatoes cut into ½ inch bite-sized cubes.

​In a large pot, heat up the bacon fat. I know it’s scary to use the “F” word, but fat from a healthy happy pig is arguably good for you. Of course you can use something else, but you won’t get any bacon flavor in your chili, how sad!

Add the veggies into the pot. Over medium heat, stir occasionally until the onions are translucent. The sweet potatoes won’t nearly be cooked through, but that’s OK! You’ll be simmering this for a long time.

Push the veggies out to the edge of the pot and put the ground beef into the middle. Using a spatula, chop up the ground beef. As it cooks, go ahead and mix it in with the veggies, stirring until there is no more pink.

Turn the heat way down. Add the cans - the beer, the tomatoes and the beans. If you’re using canned beans, make sure to rinse them in a sieve to get the excess bean water off of them.

Add all the spices except for the salt. Add the molasses, worcestershire sauce and the liquid smoke. Stir gently to incorporate the spices. At this point the chili should look more like a soup, very liquidy. But now you can walk away for 20 minutes and allow the liquid to evaporate.

Check on the chili in about 20 minutes. It should be happily simmering and bubbling gently. If not, adjust the heat. At this point I usually add the salt and taste it. Give it a stir and leave it for another 20 minutes.

If you have the time, you can keep checking it every 20 minutes until it gets really thick. Just be sure to stir it so that the bottom doesn’t burn! I usually go for at least an hour.

I like cooking chili on a Sunday and not eating it until the next day. This allows a long time to simmer and get really thick. Then after it cools and get stored in the fridge, something magical happens… The ingredients get to know one another and all meld to taste so much better the next day - trust me. We usually will eat the chili for days after - with rice, polenta, in a burrito, with a poached egg on top, with tortilla chips - it’s so versatile!